The African American Arts Alliance of Chicago honored The Interrupters with the award for Best Documentary at the 11th annual Black Excellence Awards Gala last night at the DuSable Museum of African American History. Kartemquin's Executive Director Justine Nagan and the film's Outreach Coordinator Anton Seals attended and accepted the award of behalf of the film.   Continued

The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) has announced its 2011 line-up, which includes A Good Man and The Interrupters. The festival, regularly cited as Europe's premier documentary event, runs November 16-27. This will mark the 7th festival of our 45th anniversary year in which the two films have screened together, and the two will be part of 7 total Kartemquin films screening at IDFA.   A Good Man and The Interrupters screen in the 'Masters' section of the festival, along with new works by some of the most acclaimed documentary filmmakers alive. The films' respective directors Steve James and Gordon Quinn will attend for Kartemquin.   Continued

The Interrupters returned to the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago last Friday. Producer Alex Kotlowitz, co-producer Zak Piper and CeaseFire members Ricardo “Cobe” Williams and Marcus McAllister participated in an insightful Q&A. Inspired audience members inquired about everything from the particularities of filmmaking to the logistics and financing of CeaseFire. While some wondered about the personal stances of the Ceasefire members present that night, others just expressed their own feelings about the film, claiming it to be “the most important documentary they had ever seen.”   Continued

An eight-film retrospective spanning every decade of Kartemquin Films' 45 year history will be part of the 2011 Virginia Film Festival this November 3-9, 2001. The tribute will include the state premieres of our new releases The Interrupters and A Good Man, with appearances from Bill T. Jones and co-director Gordon Quinn, and The Interrupters, with director Steve James present. Both Steve James and Gordon Quinn were born in Virginia.   Continued

The Interrupters has been awarded a grant of $75,000 from the Tribeca Film Insititute's first ever TFI New Media Fund.   The generous grant will go towards transmedia social outreach and engagement, including more "interrupter video stories" and interactive initiatives that will get a wider audience to grapple with the "personal, social and economic forces that contribute to the violence that plagues our cities." Read about the announcement.   Continued

Kartemquin is honored to have its two 2011 releases A Good Man and The Interrupters selected for screening at the DOC NYC Festival in New York this November.   A Good Man will screen in its New York City premiere at 11:45 AM, Saturday, November 5 at IFC Center. Tickets are available now. The film, about New York icon Bill T. Jones taking on the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, aptly plays in the DOC NYC "Icons" section, characterized by "Films that bring fresh insights into maverick personalities." Co-director Bob Hercules is attending the screening, along with Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Comapny artistic director Janet Wong. This is one not to be missed!   Continued

The Interrupters returns to the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on Friday for a two week run, October 7-20. Get times and tickets.   Filmmakers and CeaseFire Illinois staff will attend many of the screenings. The Thursday, October 20, 8:15 pm screening will be a benefit for CeaseFire, with the Gene Siskel Film Center donating their entire share of the box office to the organization.   Continued

The University of Chicago's Doc Films welcomes back Kartemquin Films with a 10-week retrospective featuring 19 of our most memorable documentaries! In celebration of our 45th anniversary, Doc Films is bringing the art of documentary storytelling back to the place where our history began, showing at 7pm every Sunday night Oct 2-Dec 4.   This retrospective is a crowning moment of the long-standing relationship between UChicago and Kartemquin, which was founded by 3 UChicago graduates, and is currently led by Justine Nagan (U Chicago MAPH 2004). The story of Kartemquin, while little known on campus, is possibly one of the biggest successes of UChicago's “Life of the Mind.”   Continued

  The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) commemorates celebrated producer/director Steve James at the TIFF Bell Lightbox cinema in Toronto. James will be attending the tribute, which runs from October 6th – October 9th, and features three of his films alongside the theatrical run of The Interrupters, and his special curation of the classic hockey film Slap Shot.   Continued

Kartemquin's anniversary celebration at Metro in Chicago last week was a great success. It was wonderful to mark the 45th year of our social filmmaking in style amongst old and new friends with a night that we will all remember for a long time to come.   Continued